Take a look at the construction at Piers 15 and 17 from a different vantage point. This past August we recorded video of the Exploratorium's new home from a boat about 100 yards off the back of the piers.

Obsidian points, Spanish terra-cotta tiles, Prohibition-era liquor bottles—history lies buried underfoot in the Presidio, one of the earliest settlements in San Francisco, occupied in turn by the Ohlone Indians, Spanish, Mexicans, and the U.S. Army. Archaeologist Kari Jones shares tales of recent digs and discoveries in this national park, and explains why most artifacts are dug up only to be reburied.

Framing of the Exploratorium's Observatory Building, the only completely new construction at at the piers, began in April 2011. Iron workers placed various sizes of steel beams in piles around the concrete base of the Observatory. Then, while a crane raised and held each beam aloft, the workers used metal spikes to line up the holes of the beams and inserted bolts, tightening them down to tie the structure together. Because the Observatory Building is less than two stories tall, the iron workers were allowed to shimmy across the beams without harnesses. Once this process was finished, the beams were plumbed and welded together.

In this program we meet Elizabeth Young, pigeon rescue expert and head of the pigeon rescue organization MickCoo (http://www.mickacoo.org), for a personal introduction to pigeons-their history, their accomplishments, their contributions to research in animal behavior/memory/learning/and how they navigate long distances-as well as their plight in the city.
For more information visit: www.RescueReport.org

Come out to play on the concrete slides at Seward Street Mini Park in the Castro. A series of speed tests guided by physicist Paul Doherty takes on the question asked by sliders everywhere: How can I go faster?

In January and February of 2011, the first of the large 72" in diameter piles were driven 160 feet in to the sea floor at Piers 15 and 17 in San Francisco, the new home of the Exploratorium. These new piles were installed between the two piers and along the south apron of Pier 15. In early March, the steel casings were filled with concrete.

Construction at the Exploratorium's new home on the Embarcadero began in October 2010. Over a three day span in November 2010, the existing non-historic connector building on the east end of Piers 15 and 17 was demolished, revealing for the first time in 55 years a view out to the Bay.

If you sink it, they will come. That’s what Exploratorium biologist Karen Kalumuck learned when she decided to experiment by submerging PVC plates under the piers at Marina Harbor. In this program, you'll meet the bizarre aquatic life forms that inhabit our Bay.

Webcasts made possible through the generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Jim Clark Endowment for Internet Education, the McBean Family Foundation.

Bandwidth and infrastructure support for connectivity to the California Research and Education Network and to other Internet2-connected networks provided by the Corporation for Educational Networks Initiatives in California (CENIC).